Frank Lautenberg: “if the product liability bill passes in its current form, the tobacco industry will get what it wants, and the American…”

“if the product liability bill passes in its current form, the tobacco industry will get what it wants, and the American public will receive nothing in return. As reported out of the Commerce Committee, the product liability bill will cap punitive damages and eliminate joint and several liability in tobacco liability cases. This would be another sweetheart deal for big tobacco, and it would undercut the state attorneys' general. This is unacceptable. And what will America lose if we don't pass my amendment? Mr. President, I say perhaps millions of lives. The tobacco industry is on the verge of agreeing to stop marketing to American children, to stop lying and hiding the truth from the American public, to commit to actual target numbers for reduction of teen smoking, to subject themselves to appropriate regulation by the Food and Drug Administration and to back real reforms that will put teeth into laws that prohibit the sale of cigarettes to kids. Do we in Congress want to throw that away forever? Do we want to give big tobacco the green light to continue seducing and addicting our children? I certainly hope not. Mr. President, that is why it is critical that we pass my amendment, which would exempt tobacco products from the restrictions on liability covered by the product liability bill. Regardless of how any Senator feels about the overall goals of the product liability bill, exempting tobacco is the right thing to do.”